Department for Transport

Railways: Rochester

Mark Reckless: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the reduction in journey time from Rochester to London that will result from the new station in Rochester and the improvements to signalling on that route being undertaken by Network Rail.

Claire Perry: This Government is committed to an unprecedented programme of planned rail improvements, including the entire £26m rebuild of Rochester station this year. The signalling work on that route will improve network capacity in the Rochester area and promote more robust performance and infrastructure reliability for rail services. The new station, which will provide 12-carriage platforms at Rochester for the first time, will improve access and integration with Rochester city centre, with step-free access to all platforms and new facilities for passengers, including additional car parking spaces. Network Rail has advised that there may be a slight decrease in journey time although the final December 2015 timetable has not been settled.

Motorways

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will commission work to compare the cost and success of hard shoulder running on smart motorways with the Siemens eHighway.

Mr John Hayes: The Highways Agency is not considering undertaking work to compare the cost and success of hard-shoulder running on smart motorways with the Siemens eHighway. Smart motorways provide primarily congestion management for all vehicles whereas the Siemens eHighway focuses on freight traffic and the associated environmental benefits in terms of Nitrous Oxide and Carbon Dioxide reduction. Whilst costs could be compared the two approaches have significantly different objectives and outcomes.

Motorways

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will commission trials of the Siemens eHighway in the UK similar to those conducted in California.

Mr John Hayes: The Highways Agency is currently investigating the feasibility of inductive wireless power transfer technology that meets the needs of all vehicles. This is in alignment with the work defined as part of the Innovation funding in the Roads Investment Strategy. There are currently no plans to trial other technologies.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Non-domestic Rates: Cash Dispensing

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to his letter of 24 October 2014 to the chief finance officers of English billing authorities, which local authorities have offered a business rate discount to premises with a free-to-use cash machine since the sending of that letter; and if he will make a statement.

Kris Hopkins: We do not hold this information centrally. Councils do not need the permission of Whitehall to levy such local discounts. The Localism Act 2011 gave local authorities in England powers to grant business rates discounts. We have urged authorities to use their powers to provide relief to cash machines where there is a clear community benefit, such as where cash machine providers commit to introduce extra cash machines or reduce charges on existing machines. Central government now funds 50% of local discounts. We also announced at the 2014 Autumn Statement an extra £650 million of support for 2015-16 business rates bills in England, bringing the total support from 2013 and 2014 Autumn Statement measures to £1.4 billion in 2015-16.

Local Government: Oxfordshire

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assistance has been (a) requested from or (b) offered by his Department to South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils following the fire at their offices in Crowmarsh Gifford.

Penny Mordaunt: Following the fire at the council offices on 15 January local business continuity arrangements were immediately put into place. Telephone calls were made to Councillor John Cotton, leader of South Oxfordshire District Council, and Councillor Ian Hudspeth, leader of Oxfordshire County Council, on the day to offer support and no central government assistance was requested. I would like to pay tribute to Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service, and to neighbouring fire and rescue services that supported them, for their response to this incident, and to council officials who have maintained essential council services. Officials from Fire, Resilience and Emergencies Directorate have been in contact with Oxfordshire's Chief Fire Officer, Dave Etheridge.

Property Development

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many community-led developments have completed as a result of the Community Right to Build.

Stephen Williams: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Property Development

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many community groups have exercised the Community Right to Build.

Stephen Williams: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Property Development

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many bids there have been to the fund to assist community groups with the Community Right to Build; how many such bids were successful; and how much has been allocated from that fund.

Stephen Williams: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Property Development

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many community referendums there have been as a result of the Community Right to Build.

Stephen Williams: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Housing: Construction

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to maximise the use of Build Now, Pay Later models on surplus public land; and how many sites have been disposed of through these models since 2010.

Brandon Lewis: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Rabbits: Animal Breeding

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many applications there were to set up rabbit farms in England in each of the last five years for which information is available.

Brandon Lewis: The requested information is not held by the Department.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Kashmir

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage an end to clashes between Indian and Pakistani troops in Kashmir.

Mr Hugo Swire: I refer the right hon. Member to my answer of 27 November 2014 (PQ 215726).

North Korea

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions the Government has had with the South Korean authorities about (a) North Korean progress towards viable nuclear weapons and (b) protecting UK companies from North Korean hacking.

Mr Hugo Swire: The UK and the Republic of Korea (ROK) are close partners and regularly discuss matters relating to the Korean Peninsula, as well as broader international security concerns. The most recent Ministerial discussions were on 3 December 2014, when the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), held strategic talks with the ROK Foreign Minister, Yun Byung-se. These talks covered a range of issues including international security. The Foreign Secretary made clear during these discussions our concern that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea continues to advance its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Separately, the ROK is one of a range of international partners with which we have engaged to help protect the UK and British businesses from cyber attacks. The Government is also working closely with industry to address the threat and impact of cyber attacks, as part of the UK Cyber Security Strategy.

Egypt

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he plans to take to encourage better protection of religious minorities in Egypt.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We deplore all discrimination against religious minorities and constraints on their freedom to practise their faith. Foreign Office Ministers have been clear with Egyptian interlocutors throughout recent events in Egypt that the freedom of religious belief needs to be protected and that the ability to worship in peace is a vital component of a democratic society. UK officials raised the importance of freedom of religion with Egyptian Deputy Assistant Minister for Human Rights, Dr Mahy Abdel Latif on 14 January 2015.The UK Government welcomed the comments made by President al-Sisi at Al-Azhar University on 1 January and at the Coptic Cathedral in Cairo on 6 January on his commitment to religious tolerance. We also welcome the protection for religious belief enshrined in the Egyptian constitution. We urge to Egyptian Government to ensure that those rights are implemented.

Western Sahara

Mr Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Spanish counterpart on (a) the position of that country in relation to the administration of Western Sahara and (b) whether Spain has submitted information to the UN about conditions in that territory, as is required of an administering power.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We have not made representations to the Spanish government relating to Western Sahara. Spain is not listed by the UN as the administering Power of Western Sahara and has not therefore transmitted information on the territory in accordance with Article 73 e of the charter of the UN.

Nigeria

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support his Department is offering to the Nigerian government in response to the recent killings by Boko Haram in Nigeria.

Mr David Lidington: The UK has taken an active role in leading international support to Nigeria in its fight against Boko Haram. We are providing a substantial package of UK military, intelligence and development support, which includes training and advice to Nigerian units deploying against Boko Haram, intelligence support and support to the Nigerians in bringing increased development and prosperity to the North East. We are also working closely with our international partners to support the large numbers of people displaced by the conflict in the North East.

Somalia

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to tackle the persecution of Christians in Somalia.

Mr David Lidington: The overwhelming majority of people in Somalia are Muslim (around 99.8%) and Islam is recognised as the official state religion in Somalia’s provisional constitution. The UK continues to support the Federal Government of Somalia in their efforts to bring government control to Somalia, and restore essential freedoms to all Somalis.The UK is working with the Federal Government of Somalia to establish a national human rights commission, to improve human rights for everybody in Somalia, irrespective of their religious persuasion - and also supporting the United Nations assistance mission in Somalia (UNSOM) monitoring and improving human rights.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what diplomatic, humanitarian or consular assistance his Department has provided to Ms Maud Kells, the missionary from County Tyrone who was shot and wounded in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mr David Lidington: I was very concerned to hear the reports of a British national hospitalised after this shooting. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials in London and the Democratic Republic of Congo are providing consular assistance through direct contact with her, the charity she works for and the local doctors to ensure that she is being provided with medical treatment and support. We understand that the matter is being investigated by the local authorities. Background Ms Maude Kells a 75 year old Christian charity worker (WEC International) was shot in the shoulder on Sunday 4 January currently being treated in Nyunkunde Hospital, DRC. Post are in contact with Ms Kells, doctors and WEC International. The hospital has reported that Ms Kells is recovering well considering her injuries and she may be discharged in a few days time. Post confirm local authorities investigating. Press lines -“We can confirm the hospitalisation of a British national in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We are providing consular assistance.”

Nuclear Weapons

Dame Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when the P5 nuclear weapon states will next meet in London; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK will host the sixth Conference of P5 Nuclear Weapon States in London on 4-5 February; I will update the House after the meeting.

Nuclear Weapons

Dame Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether there will be a joint P5 statement on the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK attended the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons and made a statement afterwards. Not all the P5 Nuclear Weapons States attended; there are therefore no plans for a joint P5 statement on the Vienna Conference.

Russia

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Russian government about (a) human rights in general and (b) LGBT rights in that country.

Mr David Lidington: (a) We remain deeply concerned about deteriorating human rights in Russia and regularly make this clear in bilateral interactions at all levels. I discussed human rights with the Russian Ambassador in London at our last meeting on 18 December. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable and noble friend Baroness Anelay, discussed human rights with the Russian Ambassador on 25 November. The British Embassy in Moscow regularly raises our concerns about human rights with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, most recently with Foreign Minister Lavrov on 13 January.(b) We have raised concerns about LGBT rights in Russia bilaterally at a number of levels since the law banning the promotion of “non-traditional” sexual relations among minors was passed in June 2013. I raised concerns about the protection of LGBT people in Russia with the Russian Ambassador at our last meeting on 18 December. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials also discussed the safety of participants at LGBT events with the Russian authorities in November, and they regularly meet with LGBT activists and attend LGBT events to provide support.

Saudi Arabia

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Saudi Arabian government about freedom of speech in that country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK is a strong supporter of freedom of expression around the world. We continue to raise a range of human rights issues with the Saudi authorities including the right to freedom of expression. Earlier this month we raised freedom of expression at a senior level with the Saudi authorities.

North Korea

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of human rights in North Korea; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire: We remain deeply concerned by the UN Commission of Inquiry’s findings of widespread and systematic state sanctioned human rights violations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). We have seen no evidence to suggest the human rights situation has improved since the Commission published its report in February 2014. On 22 December, following a request by the UK and others, the UN Security Council formally recognised the human rights situation in the DPRK as a potential threat to international peace and security and held a first discussion of this new agenda item. During this meeting the UK repeated its serious concern at the human rights situation in the DPRK and its belief that if the DPRK will not hold human rights violators to account, then the international community must be ready to do so. We also reitarated that the DPRK authorities bear primary responsibility for protecting human rights in DPRK and expressed our regret that the DPRK had withdrawn the offers of engagement made ahead of the UN General Assembly Third Committee resolution in November 2014.

Egypt

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Egyptian government on freedom of religion in that country for (a) atheists and (b) Christians.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We deplore all discrimination against religious minorities and constraints on their freedom to practise what they believe. Most recently, I raised the importance of protecting the human rights enshrined in Egypt’s constitution, which include freedom of belief and worship, with a number of senior figures in the Egyptian Government during my visit to Cairo on January 12-16. UK officials also discussed the importance of religious freedom with the Egyptian Deputy Assistant Minister for Human Rights, Dr Mahy Abdel Latif on 14 January 2015.

Nuclear Weapons

Dame Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he plans to take in response to the conclusions of the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, held in December 2014.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK was represented at the Vienna conference by our Permanent Representative to the International Organisations in Vienna, Susan le Jeune. As the Vienna Conference was a discussion platform there were no formal follow up outcomes agreed. However as stated at the Conference, the UK will continue to follow the step-by-step approach to disarmament through the existing UN disarmament machinery and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Hamas

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the military capability of Hamas.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We assess that Hamas maintains the ability to launch rocket attacks and armed attacks through tunnels on Israel from within Gaza.We call on Hamas to renounce violence, recognise Israel and accept previously signed agreements.

Middle East

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the extent of persecution of Christian communities in the Middle East.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are deeply concerned by the difficulties facing many Christians and religious minorities in the Middle East and deplore all discrimination and constraints on freedom of religion.We are committed to supporting the fundamental human right to freedom of religion or belief. We support this right for Christian communities in the Middle East by regularly urging governments at senior levels to uphold the rights of all minorities; building international consensus on freedom of religion or belief; and supporting practical projects on community dialogue with civil society and faith groups.

Christianity

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to tackle the persecution of Christians overseas.

Mr David Lidington: Freedom of religion or belief is a human rights priority. At all levels of Government, we regularly urge the protection and the right of all, including Christians, to practise their religion or belief without discrimination.

Kashmir

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on the human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir.

Mr Hugo Swire: We are concerned about the incidents that have taken place in recent weeks on both sides of the Line of Control and the International Border in Kashmir. We hope that both sides can take steps to reduce tensions.

France

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the French government on joint counter-terrorism and surveillance activities.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: First may I once again offer our deepest condolences, and express our solidarity with France, following the Paris attacks. I have regular discussions with my French counter-part on security and counter-terrorism issues.The Honourable Member will understand that I cannot comment on intelligence matters.

Pakistan

Mr Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he next plans to discuss co-operation on security issues with his counterpart in the Pakistan government; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We discuss co-operation on security issues with the Pakistan government and military regularly at the highest level, and will continue to do so. I will be seeing the Pakistani PM next week to continue these discussions in the wake of the Peshawar attack.We have made clear that the UK stands shoulder to shoulder with Pakistan following the horrific terrorist attack on a school in Peshawar.

Northern Ireland Office

Child Sexual Abuse Independent Panel Inquiry

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether it remains her policy that the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry chaired by Sir Anthony Hart is the most appropriate place where all allegations surrounding Kincora should be examined.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: It remains my view that the Inquiry chaired by Sir Anthony Hart is the best forum to consider the allegations surrounding Kincora.

Child Sexual Abuse Independent Panel Inquiry

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will include Kincora Boys' Home in the independent inquiry into historical child sex abuse, established by the Home Office, in order to allow potential witnesses not to be constrained by the Official Secrets Act.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: It remains my view that the inquiry chaired by Sir Anthony Hart is the best forum to consider the allegations surrounding Kincora.As you may be aware the Attorney General for England and Wales has written to the Chairman of the Inquiry and provided an undertaking in the usual format about the admissibility and use of evidence given by a witness who co-operates with the Inquiry. This undertaking covers any offences arising under the Official Secrets Act.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Music: Licensing

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make it his policy to support the establishment of a music licensing and collections agency.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Holding answer received on 09 January 2015



While the Government recognises the value of collective licensing, only copyright holders can determine what they want to do with their rights. Where those copyright holders have expressed a demand for a third party to manage their rights and collect rights revenue on their behalf, they have already set up licensing and collections agencies. In the music sector this has already happened, and for a number of years Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) and PRS for Music (PRS) have been licensing rights and collecting and distributing royalties on behalf of rightsholders.

Science: Education

Mr Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many students are studying STEM subjects at UK universities in the 2014-15 academic year; and if he will estimate the number of such students in each of the next five academic years.

Greg Clark: Holding answer received on 15 January 2015



  The Higher Education Statistics Agency collects and publishes data on student enrolments at UK Higher Education Providers. Statistics on enrolments by mode, level and subject of study at UK Universities are published in Table 4 of their annual Statistical First Release, “Higher Education Student Enrolments and Qualifications obtained at Higher Education Providers in the United Kingdom”. The latest available statistics refer to the 2013/14 Academic Year and are available at the link:   https://www.hesa.ac.uk/sfr210   The Government does not forecast the number of students studying particular subjects, as those numbers are dependent on decisions taken by individuals and universities.   The Higher Education Statistics Agency will publish statistics for the 2014/15 academic year in January 2016.

Duke of York

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which overseas visits undertaken by HRH The Duke of York since 2011 were carried out partly or wholly on behalf of his Department; which countries were visited and what official events took place during each such visit; and what the cost to the public purse of (a) travel and (b) other expenses was of each such visit.

Matthew Hancock: Holding answer received on 15 January 2015



The Duke of York announced that he was relinquishing his role as the UK’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment in July 2011. Since 1st January 2012, HRH honoured two pre-existing commitments approved by the Royal Visits Committee (see below) through to the end of March 2012 in support of UK Trade & Investment objectives.   Switzerland (Davos) 26-28 January 2012 During the World Economic Forum at Davos, The Duke of York hosted the UK Reception, which as well as supporting British Business, provided an opportunity to promote the London Olympics 2012 and the Global Investment Conference. His Royal Highness also held a number of bilateral meetings throughout the Forum with Heads of State, Ministers and business leaders. The cost to UKTI for this visit was £12.9k Thailand (Creative & Media and Food & Drink) 28 February – 2 March 2012 During his visit to Thailand, The Duke of York called on The King and Queen of Thailand and Princess Maha Chakri Sirindthorn. His Royal Highness met with the Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Commerce and the Vice Chairman of Charoen Pokphand Group Company Limited. His Royal Highness attended a lunch for Thai companies, a dinner for British companies and a dinner with representatives of the "Next Generation" – a group of young thought leaders. The Duke of York visited the British Council's "Everything Forever Now" Exhibition at the Thailand Creative and Design Centre, Sahaviriya Steel Industries plc, Reckitt Benkiser and opened the Tesco Lotus Zero Carbon Store, Bang Pru. His Royal Highness also met with the Royal British Legion at the Embassy The cost to UKTI for this visit was £8.8k

Insolvency Service

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Insolvency Service provides value for money for creditors of liquidated companies.

Jo Swinson: The Insolvency Service has recently undertaken reviews of its systems and processes to identify ways to reduce costs. It also regularly reviews its fees. In addition, measures contained in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill will benefit creditors by saving an estimated £20m per year from the cost of all insolvency proceedings.

Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 1 October 2014 to Question 206270, what (a) inquiries have been made and (b) investigations have been carried out by (i) Ministers in his Department, (ii) officials in his Department and (iii) Business Bank staff into allegations of misselling relating to the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme since 2012.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will carry out an investigation into allegations of misselling to businesses by lenders relating to loans made under the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme.

Matthew Hancock: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has been pro-active in its engagement with Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) lenders, with regular audits of the use of the scheme since its launch. In February 2014 BIS wrote to all lenders participating in the EFG scheme reiterating their operational responsibilities, including the way in which it is presented to their front line staff and customers. Following evidence of concerns of lending by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in August 2014, BIS officials asked RBS to instigate an internal review into this issue.   My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has met with RBS to discuss these findings, and I have asked the British Business Bank – which now administers the programme on behalf of the Department – to continue to closely monitor the action being taken by RBS to address these issues. I have been given assurance from RBS that they will put right any cases where they are at fault to ensure that no detriment is suffered by either the borrower or the taxpayer.   The Enterprise Finance Guarantee remains a valuable programme which helps viable businesses gain access to finance where they have insufficient security or an inadequate track record to access finance.

Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 1 October 2014 to Question 206270, what discussions and meetings (a) Ministers in his Department, (b) officials in his Department and (c) Business Bank staff have had with (i) participating lenders and (ii) business organisations where allegations of misselling relating to the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme were discussed since 2012.

Matthew Hancock: The British Business Bank maintains regular contact with all of the main lenders participating in the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme. Quarterly meetings are held at a senior level and the allegations of mis-selling have been on the agenda of those meetings since early in 2014. In addition, operational meetings take place on a regular basis. From August 2014 onwards more frequent senior level meetings have taken place with the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). At a meeting in August 2014 RBS agreed to our request that they should undertake to conduct an internal review. The findings of that review and a proposed course of action were presented at a meeting with the British Business Bank in December 2014, and senior executives from RBS met the Secretary of State on 14 January 2015. The British Business Bank has also discussed the ‘mis-selling’ allegations with the British Bankers’ Association and the Lending Standards Board, each on one occasion.

Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 1 October 2014 to Question 206270, what (a) safeguards and (b) monitoring processes and producers are operated by his Department or the Business Bank in relation to the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme; what scrutiny of lenders takes place routinely; and what data his Department collects on the operation of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme by lenders.

Matthew Hancock: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 1 October 2014 to Question 206270, what the operational responsibilities of lenders under the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme are; and what steps his Department has taken to ensure these are upheld.

Matthew Hancock: We require all lenders participating in the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) scheme to give clear and accurate information to borrowers and to ensure that their customer-facing staff understand the way in which the scheme operates. Lenders are provided with a comprehensive EFG scheme manual and are subject to a continuous cycle of independent external audit to monitor their compliance with the scheme terms. Following evidence of concerns of lending by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in August 2014, my officials asked RBS to instigate an internal review into this issue, and the Secretary of State has subsequently met with RBS to discuss these findings.   EFG lenders follow their normal procedures according to internal policies throughout the administrative lifecycle of an EFG-backed loan. Lenders confirm eligibility of applicants and provide a transactional record to the British Business Bank – which now administers the programme on behalf of the Department – through an on-line tool. Regular dialogue is maintained between the British Business Bank and the lenders.

UK Export Finance

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much UK Export Finance has spent on advertising in each year since 2010.

Matthew Hancock: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for International Development

Nigeria

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with the Nigerian authorities about the promotion of (a) reintegration into society of and (b) other support for victims of Boko Haram in Nigeria.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The UK is in regular dialogue with the Nigerian Government about support to victims of Boko Haram. To date the UK has provided £1 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to deliver food, safe water, clothes, shelter material and other basic necessities to those people displaced following attacks by Boko Haram. A further £1 million of UK funding is committed to the Nigerian Government’s “Safe Schools Initiative” to help protect children at school in North East Nigeria. We are considering with partners what further support can be provided to help those who continue to be displaced by the conflict.

CDC

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what budget her Department allocated to the CDC Group in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12, (d) 2012-13, (e) 2013-14, (f) 2014-15 and (g) 2015-16 respectively.

Justine Greening: The Department does not allocate budget to CDC Group plc (CDC) as CDC is a self-financing non-departmental public body.   The Department has spent the following amounts for services provided by CDC in managing the DFID Impact Investment Facility Fund.   2009-10  2010-11  2011-12  2012-13  2013-14 ---23,641790,500

Overseas Aid

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of the £1.8 billion allocated by her Department for economic development programmes is expected to be non-fiscal expenditure; and what the purposes of that expenditure will be.

Justine Greening: The nature of funding for economic development programmes in 2015/16 remains subject to Ministerial approval.

Developing Countries: Overseas Investment

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much has been returned of the amount her Department invested into projects with predicted returns in the last five years.

Justine Greening: DFID did not predict or receive any income from investment in the past five years.

Developing Countries: Overseas Investment

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, by how much her Department has reduced public sector net borrowing as a result of its increased use of returnable funds.

Justine Greening: There has been no reduction in public sector net borrowing as a result of increased use of returnable funds.

Public Expenditure

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much public expenditure was allocated from her Department to Unilever in each financial year from 2009-10; and how much public expenditure is allocated to that company for 2015-16.

Justine Greening: No resources have been allocated to Unilever.

Public Expenditure

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what budget was allocated by her Department to the Samridhi Fund in each financial year from 2009-10; and what budget is allocated to that organisation for 2015-16.

Justine Greening: The implementation of the Samridhi Fund Programme commenced in 2013-14. Total spending in 2013-14 was £6.9 million. Budget allocations for 2014-15 and 2015-16 are £10 million respectively.

Public Expenditure

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what budget was allocated by her Department to the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition in each financial year from 2009-10; and what budget is allocated to that organisation for 2015-16.

Justine Greening: I refer the hon. Lady to the answer given on 28 April 2014 to the right honourable member for East Renfrewshire (Jim Murphy MP), Column 565W (196345).

Developing Countries: Overseas Investment

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, in which returnable capital funds her Department has invested since 2010.

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what total amount her Department has invested in returnable capital, loans and capital, since 2010.

Justine Greening: Since 1 April 2010 DFID has invested £100m in the following returnable capital programmes. - Private Infrastructure Development Group - Africa Risk Capacity Insurance Company Limited - Poorer States Inclusive Growth (Samridhi Fund) - Affordable Housing loan with National Housing Bank - Infrastructure Partnership loan with IDFC Limited

Department for Education

Schools: Defibrillators

Simon Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on making defibrillators available to all schools at a reduced price.

Mr David Laws: I am pleased to confirm that the Department for Education announced new arrangements to allow schools to purchase automated external defibrillators (AEDs) at a competitive price on 26 November 2014. They are the result of a unique agreement between the Department for Education and the Department of Health, enabling NHS Supply Chain to purchase devices in batches from approved framework suppliers via a reverse auction process. The discount achieved on each batch is then passed on to schools through a reduced unit price.   To help schools in considering whether to purchase a defibrillator, the Department for Education has also published advice on installing and maintaining AEDs on school premises. This has been developed drawing on the expertise of NHS ambulance services and voluntary and community sector organisations.   By encouraging schools across the country to acquire these potentially life-saving devices, the Department hopes to make a vital contribution to ensuring that pupils and school staff who suffer cardiac arrests whilst at school have the best possible chance of survival. I hope that as many schools as possible will take advantage of the new arrangements.

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much was spent on the pupil premium in each local authority ward in Kingswood constituency in each of the last 5 years.

Mr David Laws: The Pupil Premium was introduced in April 2011. The available information showing pupil premium allocations for Kingswood parliamentary constituency is shown in the table below. To provide a further breakdown by ward for the four year time period would incur disproportionate cost. STATE-FUNDED PRIMARY AND SECONDARY, MAINTAINED SPECIAL SCHOOLS, SPECIAL ACADEMIES, PUPIL REFERRAL UNITS AND ALTERNATIVE PROVISION ACADEMIES (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7):   NUMBER OF PUPILS ELIGIBLE FOR THE PUPIL PREMIUM AND ALLOCATION AMOUNTS   Kingswood parliamentary constituency Total Pupil PremiumTotal pupils eligible for the Pupil Premium Total allocation for the Pupil Premium  2011-12 1,460 £699,000  2012-13 2,330 £1,423,000  2013-14 2,440 £2,222,000  2014-15 (illustrative) (8) 2,400 £2,671,000   Pupil numbers rounded to the nearest 10.   Premiums rounded to the nearest £1,000.   1. Includes middle schools as deemed.   2. Includes primary academies (including free schools) as recorded on the relevant January census.  3. Includes city technology colleges and secondary academies (including free schools) as recorded on the relevant January census.  4. Includes local authority maintained special schools. This does not include non-maintained special schools. 5. Includes special academies (including free schools).  6. Includes Alternative Provision (AP) academies which were formerly pupil referral units (PRU) which have converted and gained academy status. 7. It is not possible to determine the number of parliamentary constituency pupils recorded on the AP Census or recorded as looked after children as they are both local authority returns, and not an establishment level return. Therefore, figures will be lower than published data at local authority level.8. These figures are for illustrative purposes only. The Department has published illustrative pupil premium funding allocations for the financial year 2014-15, based on census data from 2013. Final allocations for 2014-15 will be published later in the year, based on pupil data gathered through the January 2014 school census.

Ministry of Justice

Terrorism: Prisoners' Release

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners convicted of terrorist-related offences have been released on temporary licence in each of the last five years.

Andrew Selous: Release on temporary licence is not an entitlement and each prisoner is rigorously risk-assessed before they are allowed to be released on ROTL. All prisoners must wait until the latter part of their sentence for resettlement ROTL, and those convicted of terrorism-related offences are subject to the tougher, Restricted ROTL process that the Government introduced last year.In the period January 2010 to 14 November 2014 15 prisoners convicted of a Terrorism Act offence or of an offence that was terrorism-related, where the motivation stemmed from an extreme ideology, were released on temporary licence.The 15 prisoners represent a range of ideologies and contain a number of animal rights activists.

Prisons: Drugs

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many mandatory drug tests have been performed in each prison in each quarter since 2006.

Andrew Selous: We take a zero tolerance approach to contraband in prison and use a range of robust security measures to find them, including searches and specially trained dogs. Prisoners who are found with contraband face tough punishments including having their privileges removed, getting time added onto their sentence and may be referred to the police for prosecution. We are committed to focussing our efforts on preventing drugs from entering custody and an intelligence led approach to using MDT tests most effectively and programmes and support to ensure that prisoners can stay free from drugs in custody. The national positive rate of MDT samples has remained reasonably static since April 2010, with the rate between 7.0% and 7.4%, down from 24.4% in 1996. A table showing the number of mandatory drug tests that have taken place in each prison in each quarter since 2006 has been placed in the House Library. All figures used in providing this document have been drawn from live administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. The data are not subject to audit.



drug tests in each prison in each quarter since 06
(Excel SpreadSheet, 51 KB)

Prisons: Interpreters

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much was spent on professional interpretation services by each prison in England and Wales in 2012; and on how many occasions such interpretation services were used in each prison in 2012.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the percentage success rate was under the Capita Translation and Interpreting contract in each month from 12 January to 14 March 2014.

Andrew Selous: The percentage success rates for the Capita Translation and Interpreting contract are published and can be found using the below link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-the-use-of-language-services-in-courts-and-tribunals-january-2012-december-2013Please find below a table showing the number of assignments and total spend in 2012 in each prison on professional interpretation through the MoJ Language Services Contract with Capita Translation and Interpreting. Prison Spend 2012 Number of assignmentsHMP Nottingham£317.773HMP Nottingham£162.762HMP Ranby£155.011HMP Stocken£94.241HMP Sudbury£668.234HMP The Mount£69.751HMP Wellingborough£223.502HMPYOI Foston Hall£72.321IRC Morton Hall£36.251HMP Whatton£37,893.56135MoJ Shared Services£4,635.6126HMP Bure£153.012HMP Highpoint£33.581HMP Usk and Prescoed£1,855.3914HMP North Sea Camp£253.732HMP Norwich£38.671HMPYOI Warren Hill£62.001HMYOI Chelmsford£411.126HMP Belmarsh£144.991HMP Brixton£136.923HMP Pentonville£403.031HMP Wandsworth£33,777.91103HMYOI Feltham£31.001HMP Frankland£62.001HMP Holme House£86.991HMP Garth£155.162HMP Liverpool£654.329HMP Manchester£1,177.936HMP Manchester£1,018.555HMP Preston£33.591HMPYOI Hindley£217.666HMYOI Styal£109.072HMP Swaleside£496.042HMPYOI Downview£130.491HMPYOI Reading£4,610.7228HMYOI Cookham Wood£58.001HMP Send£129.172HMP Channings Wood£124.011HMP Leyhill£293.455HMP Shepton Mallet£158.991HMP The Verne£94.241HMP Hewell£114.173HMP Long Lartin£5,320.3923HMPYOI Brinsford£493.543HMYOI Werrington£86.991HMP Leeds£607.582HMP Lindholme£485.885HMP Wakefield£38.751HMPYOI Askham Grange£48.331HMPYOI Moorland£1,363.149HMPYOI New Hall£3,182.5816Total£102,982.08452 Interpreters used by the Prison Service are self employed, freelance booked and sourced via the Capita-TI contract. Each assignment constitutes a separate individual booking which can range from one hour to a few days dependent upon the requirement. The value of spend and number of assignments for HMP Wandsworth and HMP Whatton are due to the requirement for a British Sign Language interpreter for a 6 month period in each facility to aid a member of prison service staff with access to work. This requirement, whilst initially paid for by HMPS, was reimbursed by the Department of Work and Pensions. The interpreting contract was introduced to tackle the inefficiencies and inconsistencies in the previous system. The contract has delivered significant improvements so far and we now have a system that is robust, sustainable and able to deliver a quality service at an affordable level. As a result of the contract, we have spent £27m less in the first two years it has been running, and it continues to reduce the burden on taxpayers.

Prisons: Interpreters

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much was spent on professional interpretation services by each prison in England and Wales in 2012; and on how many occasions such interpretation services were used in each prison in 2012.

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the percentage success rate was under the Capita TI interpreting contract in each month from 12 January to 14 March 2014

Andrew Selous: The percentage success rates for the Capita Translation and Interpreting contract are published and can be found using the below link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-the-use-of-language-services-in-courts-and-tribunals-january-2012-december-2013Please find below a table showing the number of assignments and total spend in 2012 in each prison on professional interpretation through the MoJ Language Services Contract with Capita Translation and Interpreting. Prison Spend 2012 Number of assignmentsHMP Nottingham£317.773HMP Nottingham£162.762HMP Ranby£155.011HMP Stocken£94.241HMP Sudbury£668.234HMP The Mount£69.751HMP Wellingborough£223.502HMPYOI Foston Hall£72.321IRC Morton Hall£36.251HMP Whatton£37,893.56135MoJ Shared Services£4,635.6126HMP Bure£153.012HMP Highpoint£33.581HMP Usk and Prescoed£1,855.3914HMP North Sea Camp£253.732HMP Norwich£38.671HMPYOI Warren Hill£62.001HMYOI Chelmsford£411.126HMP Belmarsh£144.991HMP Brixton£136.923HMP Pentonville£403.031HMP Wandsworth£33,777.91103HMYOI Feltham£31.001HMP Frankland£62.001HMP Holme House£86.991HMP Garth£155.162HMP Liverpool£654.329HMP Manchester£1,177.936HMP Manchester£1,018.555HMP Preston£33.591HMPYOI Hindley£217.666HMYOI Styal£109.072HMP Swaleside£496.042HMPYOI Downview£130.491HMPYOI Reading£4,610.7228HMYOI Cookham Wood£58.001HMP Send£129.172HMP Channings Wood£124.011HMP Leyhill£293.455HMP Shepton Mallet£158.991HMP The Verne£94.241HMP Hewell£114.173HMP Long Lartin£5,320.3923HMPYOI Brinsford£493.543HMYOI Werrington£86.991HMP Leeds£607.582HMP Lindholme£485.885HMP Wakefield£38.751HMPYOI Askham Grange£48.331HMPYOI Moorland£1,363.149HMPYOI New Hall£3,182.5816Total£102,982.08452 Interpreters used by the Prison Service are self employed, freelance booked and sourced via the Capita-TI contract. Each assignment constitutes a separate individual booking which can range from one hour to a few days dependent upon the requirement. The value of spend and number of assignments for HMP Wandsworth and HMP Whatton are due to the requirement for a British Sign Language interpreter for a 6 month period in each facility to aid a member of prison service staff with access to work. This requirement, whilst initially paid for by HMPS, was reimbursed by the Department of Work and Pensions. The interpreting contract was introduced to tackle the inefficiencies and inconsistencies in the previous system. The contract has delivered significant improvements so far and we now have a system that is robust, sustainable and able to deliver a quality service at an affordable level. As a result of the contract, we have spent £27m less in the first two years it has been running, and it continues to reduce the burden on taxpayers.

Prisons: Interpreters

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much was spent on professional interpretation services in each prison in England and Wales in 2012; and on how many occasions each such interpretation service was used.

Andrew Selous: The percentage success rates for the Capita Translation and Interpreting contract are published and can be found using the below link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-the-use-of-language-services-in-courts-and-tribunals-january-2012-december-2013Please find below a table showing the number of assignments and total spend in 2012 in each prison on professional interpretation through the MoJ Language Services Contract with Capita Translation and Interpreting. Prison Spend 2012 Number of assignmentsHMP Nottingham£317.773HMP Nottingham£162.762HMP Ranby£155.011HMP Stocken£94.241HMP Sudbury£668.234HMP The Mount£69.751HMP Wellingborough£223.502HMPYOI Foston Hall£72.321IRC Morton Hall£36.251HMP Whatton£37,893.56135MoJ Shared Services£4,635.6126HMP Bure£153.012HMP Highpoint£33.581HMP Usk and Prescoed£1,855.3914HMP North Sea Camp£253.732HMP Norwich£38.671HMPYOI Warren Hill£62.001HMYOI Chelmsford£411.126HMP Belmarsh£144.991HMP Brixton£136.923HMP Pentonville£403.031HMP Wandsworth£33,777.91103HMYOI Feltham£31.001HMP Frankland£62.001HMP Holme House£86.991HMP Garth£155.162HMP Liverpool£654.329HMP Manchester£1,177.936HMP Manchester£1,018.555HMP Preston£33.591HMPYOI Hindley£217.666HMYOI Styal£109.072HMP Swaleside£496.042HMPYOI Downview£130.491HMPYOI Reading£4,610.7228HMYOI Cookham Wood£58.001HMP Send£129.172HMP Channings Wood£124.011HMP Leyhill£293.455HMP Shepton Mallet£158.991HMP The Verne£94.241HMP Hewell£114.173HMP Long Lartin£5,320.3923HMPYOI Brinsford£493.543HMYOI Werrington£86.991HMP Leeds£607.582HMP Lindholme£485.885HMP Wakefield£38.751HMPYOI Askham Grange£48.331HMPYOI Moorland£1,363.149HMPYOI New Hall£3,182.5816Total£102,982.08452 Interpreters used by the Prison Service are self employed, freelance booked and sourced via the Capita-TI contract. Each assignment constitutes a separate individual booking which can range from one hour to a few days dependent upon the requirement. The value of spend and number of assignments for HMP Wandsworth and HMP Whatton are due to the requirement for a British Sign Language interpreter for a 6 month period in each facility to aid a member of prison service staff with access to work. This requirement, whilst initially paid for by HMPS, was reimbursed by the Department of Work and Pensions. The interpreting contract was introduced to tackle the inefficiencies and inconsistencies in the previous system. The contract has delivered significant improvements so far and we now have a system that is robust, sustainable and able to deliver a quality service at an affordable level. As a result of the contract, we have spent £27m less in the first two years it has been running, and it continues to reduce the burden on taxpayers.

Prisons: Interpreters

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much was spent on professional interpretation services in each prison in England and Wales in 2012; and on how many occasions such interpretation services were used.

Andrew Selous: The percentage success rates for the Capita Translation and Interpreting contract are published and can be found using the below link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-on-the-use-of-language-services-in-courts-and-tribunals-january-2012-december-2013Please find below a table showing the number of assignments and total spend in 2012 in each prison on professional interpretation through the MoJ Language Services Contract with Capita Translation and Interpreting. Prison Spend 2012 Number of assignmentsHMP Nottingham£317.773HMP Nottingham£162.762HMP Ranby£155.011HMP Stocken£94.241HMP Sudbury£668.234HMP The Mount£69.751HMP Wellingborough£223.502HMPYOI Foston Hall£72.321IRC Morton Hall£36.251HMP Whatton£37,893.56135MoJ Shared Services£4,635.6126HMP Bure£153.012HMP Highpoint£33.581HMP Usk and Prescoed£1,855.3914HMP North Sea Camp£253.732HMP Norwich£38.671HMPYOI Warren Hill£62.001HMYOI Chelmsford£411.126HMP Belmarsh£144.991HMP Brixton£136.923HMP Pentonville£403.031HMP Wandsworth£33,777.91103HMYOI Feltham£31.001HMP Frankland£62.001HMP Holme House£86.991HMP Garth£155.162HMP Liverpool£654.329HMP Manchester£1,177.936HMP Manchester£1,018.555HMP Preston£33.591HMPYOI Hindley£217.666HMYOI Styal£109.072HMP Swaleside£496.042HMPYOI Downview£130.491HMPYOI Reading£4,610.7228HMYOI Cookham Wood£58.001HMP Send£129.172HMP Channings Wood£124.011HMP Leyhill£293.455HMP Shepton Mallet£158.991HMP The Verne£94.241HMP Hewell£114.173HMP Long Lartin£5,320.3923HMPYOI Brinsford£493.543HMYOI Werrington£86.991HMP Leeds£607.582HMP Lindholme£485.885HMP Wakefield£38.751HMPYOI Askham Grange£48.331HMPYOI Moorland£1,363.149HMPYOI New Hall£3,182.5816Total£102,982.08452 Interpreters used by the Prison Service are self employed, freelance booked and sourced via the Capita-TI contract. Each assignment constitutes a separate individual booking which can range from one hour to a few days dependent upon the requirement. The value of spend and number of assignments for HMP Wandsworth and HMP Whatton are due to the requirement for a British Sign Language interpreter for a 6 month period in each facility to aid a member of prison service staff with access to work. This requirement, whilst initially paid for by HMPS, was reimbursed by the Department of Work and Pensions. The interpreting contract was introduced to tackle the inefficiencies and inconsistencies in the previous system. The contract has delivered significant improvements so far and we now have a system that is robust, sustainable and able to deliver a quality service at an affordable level. As a result of the contract, we have spent £27m less in the first two years it has been running, and it continues to reduce the burden on taxpayers.

Crime

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions for racially or religiously aggravated offences there were in each of the last 10 years.

Mike Penning: These are despicable crimes that devastate lives and communities. Hate crimes are not acceptable and the courts hand out tougher punishments where race or religion are found to be aggravating factors. The number of offenders found guilty at all courts for racially and religiously aggravated offences, in England and Wales, from 2004 to 2013 (the latest available) can be viewed in the attached table.



table-Racially and religiously aggravated offences
(Excel SpreadSheet, 44.5 KB)

Ministry of Defence

Military Aircraft

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to invest in the upgrade of the A400M aircraft for use in special operations; what lessons his Department learned from the time taken to upgrade the C130J aircraft for that role in terms of (a) foregone capability and (b) increased costs; what estimate he has made of the (i) ability of the A400M to withstand an attack in comparison with the C130J and (ii) comparative cost of keeping the C130J in service for this role and introducing an upgraded A400M; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: The A400M is planned to replace the C130J. The Department is currently considering upgrade requirements for the use of A400M across the span of operations. It is the policy of the Government not to comment on Special Forces matters.

Afghanistan

Dr William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to make a formal public acknowledgement of the sacrifice made by British troops deployed to Afghanistan in recent years.

Mr Mark Francois: British Service personnel served with great courage and distinction throughout the Afghanistan campaign. As the Prime Minister has made clear, the UK military personnel who sadly paid the ultimate price will never be forgotten. Neither will this Government forget those who were injured in the course of their Service.In addition to the many public acknowledgements, Defence has rewarded the bravery and sacrifice of those who served in Afghanistan through the awarding of medals to those who deployed. Further, the names of those who have lost their lives are recorded on the Armed Forces Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum (NMA). In addition, the Bastion Wall monument is in the process of being replicated at the NMA, with a re-dedication service to be held later this year.In November 2014, the Prime Minister announced plans for a monument to those who served in both Afghanistan and Iraq. This work is being taken forward by an independent committee, chaired by Lord Stirrup and supported by the Ministry of Defence, with fundraising led by The Sun newspaper. Our hope is that the monument will be unveiled in 2016.

Nigeria

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support his Department is offering to Nigeria to help combat Boko Haram.

Mr Mark Francois: Holding answer received on 16 January 2015



I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 12 January 2015 to Parliamentary Question 906917, to the hon. Member for Bedford (Richard Fuller). 



Hansard Extract 12 January 2015
(Word Document, 26.5 KB)

West Africa: Ebola

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to ensure members of the armed forces helping with the Ebola outbreak have adequate protection against the disease.

Mr Mark Francois: Holding answer received on 16 January 2015



We take the protection of military personnel exceptionally seriously: it is our highest priority.The key element of this protection is the training and briefing which is conducted prior to deployment, and which is tailored to their role in Sierra Leone, including the use/operation of the personal protective equipment issued. This training is supplemented on arrival in Sierra Leone and updated thereafter in line with the prevailing situation.All personnel returning from Sierra Leone will be screened for Ebola in line with current guidance from Public Health England. This is part of a much wider monitoring and screening process, which will run throughout an individual's deployment.

European Fighter Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with the Chief of the Air Staff on transferring responsibility for the risk of Typhoon mid air collision to that role.

Mr Mark Francois: In line with Military Aviation Authority (MAA) Regulatory Articles, the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) briefed the Secretary of State in October 2014 that the Typhoon mid-air collision risk with commercial air transport aircraft had been elevated to CAS since June 2014.

European Fighter Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 7 of Director General, Military Aviation Authority, Air Safety Annual Report, August 2013-August 2014, published in January 2015, what assessment he has made of the implications of the conclusions of that report on his policy on mitigating mid-air collisions; and if he will require a full Airborne Collision Avoidance System to be fitted in all operational Typhoon aircraft.

Mr Mark Francois: Mid-air collision remains the top air safety risk. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has made considerable progress in reducing the risk of Mid-Air Collision, as the report highlights. Operating Duty Holders are well focused on the risk and are working hard to develop and evolve further mitigations.Avoidance of collision in the air requires a multi-layered approach, including effective de-confliction planning; supervision of flying and equipment fitted to aircraft to aid situational awareness; employment of suitable radar services; and ultimately an effective lookout from the aircraft to "see and avoid" each other. A wide range of technical and non-technical mitigations are used to reduce the risk to a tolerable level which is as low as reasonably practicable. The risk analysis and associated mitigations are regularly reviewed and adjusted where required in accordance with Military Aviation Authority regulations. The procurement of a collision warning system for UK Typhoon is ongoing with a number of options being assessed using the extant MOD procurement process.

Military Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which posts have held responsibility and for how long for the risk of mid-air collisions on each fast jet type in each of the last five years; and what the reason was for the change of ownership in each case.

Mr Mark Francois: The Operating Duty Holder, Air Officer Commanding No 1 Group has and continues to own all frontline fast jet mid-air collision risk except in the following two circumstances: The mid-air collision risk for Tornado GR4 was held by the RAF's Senior Duty Holder, Chief of the Air Staff in 2011, and then further elevated to the Secretary of State in June 2011. On commencement of the current Tornado Collision Warning System programme later that same month the risk was transferred back to Air Officer Commanding No 1 Group due to the programme mitigating the risk. The Typhoon mid-air collision risk with commercial air transport was elevated to the Chief of the Air Staff in June 2014 following the conclusion of further risk analysis work conducted by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL). This analysis concluded that the risk level was unchanged but highlighted the potential for societal concern in the event of a collision.

European Fighter Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when responsibility for the risk of Typhoon mid-air collision was passed from Air Officer Commanding No 1 Group to the Chief of the Air Staff; and for what reason that change was made.

Mr Mark Francois: The Typhoon mid-air collision risk with commercial air transport was elevated to the Chief of the Air Staff in June 2014 following the conclusion of further risk analysis work conducted by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL). This analysis concluded that the risk level was unchanged but highlighted the potential for societal concern in the event of a collision.

Department for Work and Pensions

Retail Trade

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to ensure that shops secure the physical safety of their customers during future Black Friday promotions; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Mark Harper: Retailers are responsible for ensuring, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of customers under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. When organising special events such as Black Friday retailers must plan their activities to effectively control and manage risks. Regulation of retail activities sits with the relevant local authority. The Health and Safety Executive is in discussion with both the retail industry trade associations and Local Authorities about the implications of initiatives such as Black Friday promotions.

Delivery Services

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to provide retraining opportunities for (a) former employees of City Link and (b) others who have been made redundant in the parcel delivery sector.

Esther McVey: Jobcentre Plus through its Rapid Response Service (RRS) aims to address the effects of redundancies on individuals and the local community by helping those affected move into alternative employment quickly.RRS offers a range of support, tailored at a local level to the needs of the individual and the local labour market.Former City Link employees, or any other employee who has been made redundant in the parcel delivery sector would be eligible for RRS support and anyone who approaches their local Jobcentre will be advised and directed accordingly.In Scotland and Wales, RRS support is delivered in partnership with Skills Development Scotland (Partnership Action for Continuing Employment) and the Welsh Assembly Government (Redundancy Action Scheme), respectively. The Department for Employment and Learning, Northern Ireland (DELNI) leads support there. Each service is similarly serving the needs of City Link employees based there.Both DWP and BIS continue to work with the Administrator Ernst & Young and trade unions to see how we might further assist and support City Link employees in their movement back into employment.

Funerals: Low Incomes

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2014 to Question 216270, whether the average payment made by the Social Fund Funeral Payment scheme is intended to cover the whole cost of a simple, respectful, low-cost funeral; by what methodology he has assessed the total cost of such a funeral; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: The Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment has from its creation, as the claim form and guidance makes clear, provided help towards the cost of funerals for eligible claimants. This includes those necessary costs of burial or cremation, which will be met in full and a significant contribution of up to £700 towards other costs.

Social Security Benefits

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy that people on benefits who undertake temporary work placements can have their benefits reinstated immediately and do not wait six weeks.

Esther McVey: We aim to ensure all claimants receive their first benefit payment as quickly as possible and have no plans to change our policy.   Under Universal Credit (UC), claimants have a six month re-award period making it easier for them to take on temporary work placements and restart their UC award by simply reporting their change of circumstances and attending an interview. We are in the process of extending UC to more and more claimants with national roll-out beginning next month.

Social Security Benefits

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the value of hardship payments issued to sanctioned jobseekers' allowance claimants was in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Esther McVey: The information is not available. The latest published information on hardship awards covers the 12 month period from April 2011 to March 2012. This is the link to the publication. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/222972/hardship_adhoc_2011_2012.pdf

Work Programme: Scotland

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people (a) were eligible for and (b) participated in the Work Programme in Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East constituency in each month since October 2012.

Esther McVey: In response to the first question, those eligible for the Work Programme are referred to it and therefore eligibility is reflected by referral numbers. Information on those referred to the Work Programme, by parliamentary constituency, is published and can be found at: http://tabulation-tool.dwp.gov.uk/WorkProg/tabtool.html Guidance for users is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-tabulation-tool-guidance

Funerals

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his Answer of 5 January 2015 to Question 219706, what estimate he has made of the number of people who went into debt in order to pay for a funeral in the last period for which figures are available.

Steve Webb: My department does not collect this information.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page 32 of Work Programme Evaluation: Operation of the commissioning model, finance and programme delivery, published by his Department in December 2014, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policy of the finding that Jobcentre Plus managers' views on the effectiveness of the Work Programme tended to be fairly negative.

Esther McVey: Recognising the importance of Jobcentre Plus involvement, the Department has piloted a new closer working approach. Jobcentres have reported that closer working with providers in support of our hardest to help customers is assisting the removal of barriers and building greater trust for all parties.

State Retirement Pensions: Kilmarnock

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency who will reach the state pension age within 12 months from the introduction of the single-tier pension and will be eligible to receive the full rate of state pension.

Steve Webb: The Department does not hold the required information to answer this question.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what conclusions about effective approaches to universal credit in work conditionality he has drawn from the labour market trials which started between May 2013 and January 2014; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey: The purpose of the initial Jobcentre Plus-led trials tested within Jobcentre Plus were to help inform and shape the design of larger-scale Randomised Controlled Trials that we plan to run in Universal Credit from April 2015, from which conclusions about effective in-work support will start to be drawn.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to publish evaluations of the universal credit in work conditionality pilots.

Esther McVey: The Department is currently developing the evaluation strategy, including publication plans, for the large-scale Randomised Controlled Trials that we will deliver in Universal Credit. The first of these trials will be launched in April this year.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what changes he has made to his Department's policies or procedures in response to those representations about the adequacy of his Department's hardship payments scheme.

Esther McVey: Following the recommendations of the Oakley Review of sanctions (published July 2014), Jobcentre Plus offices have improved claimants’ awareness of hardship when a sanction applies to their benefit. Jobcentre Plus has undertaken a comprehensive review of the Hardship process. This has focused on strengthening information provided to claimants throughout their engagement with us. All claimants are informed about the application process before a sanction decision is made and before any benefit reduction. Assistance is also provided with the application process where required. We have also sped up the hardship process so all payments are made within 3 days. Vulnerable claimants can continue to apply for hardship payments immediately.

Food Banks

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what resources from the UK's allocatons of EU Structural Funds have been used to support food banks.

Esther McVey: The European Commission implementing decision of 3 April 2014 transferred €3.96m from the UK’s structural funds allocation to the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived.The Government announced on 18 December 2014 that the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived will be used to support additional breakfast clubs in schools in deprived areas in England, subject to agreement with the European Commission. We believe that breakfast clubs effectively target help to many of the most deprived children – providing nutritious meals in some of the poorest areas, supporting academic attainment, promoting healthy eating habits at a young age and saving families money. This funding would be in addition to existing support provided by the Government – we have already committed just over £1 million over two years to support an expansion of breakfast clubs in poor areas.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average number of job searches required of jobseeker's allowance claimants is in (a) each English region and (b) each age group.

Esther McVey: There is not set number of jobsearches required. It is a condition of entitlement for Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants to be actively seeking work. To meet this requirement, claimants are generally expected to take all reasonable steps each week to give them the best prospects of obtaining work. DWP Work Coaches agree steps that it is reasonable to expect the claimant to undertake, taking into account individual circumstances and record these in a Claimant Commitment which is regularly reviewed and updated as appropriate.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Cats: Animal Welfare

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to reduce the number of fatal shootings of cats; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: The Government considers that animal cruelty is abhorrent. In addition to strict firearms legislation governing the possession carrying and use of guns, it is already an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to an animal. All such incidents should be reported to the police who have the necessary powers to investigate.

Game: Birds

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with landowners concerning measures to improve the habitat of the grey partridge.

George Eustice: The Secretary of State has not met landowners to discuss these specific measures. The Wild Pollinator and Farm Wildlife Package options within our new Countryside Stewardship scheme will be of benefit to the grey partridge by providing winter feeding, nesting sites and food for chicks through appropriate management of farmland habitats. In developing the Package, Defra and Natural England officials carried out consultation with a wide range of stakeholders, including those representing landowners.

Livestock

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to publish figures for pre-slaughter mortality of animals in the food industry.

George Eustice: Defra does not hold this information centrally. Mortality data is recorded at an individual farm level. The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 requires all farmed animals to be inspected at least once a day. The number of mortalities found at each inspection has to be recorded and that information must be made available to an inspector on request.

Bovine Tuberculosis: South West

Mr Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take account of the shortage of vets in Devon and Cornwall when considering enforcement of fines for a failure to submit bovine TB tests in time.

George Eustice: We have made it clear to cattle keepers that they should contact their local APHA office if they think they will not be able to complete TB testing within the period of the testing window, which they are notified of in advance. In certain circumstances a new testing deadline can be agreed, with no financial penalty applied. Such circumstances would include where the keeper has clear evidence that they had done their best to meet the testing deadline. Any farmer who believes that he has been unfairly sanctioned for a breach of cross compliance rules can submit an appeal to the RPA.

Plastic Bags

Dr Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will consult representatives from the compostable plastic bags industry as part of her Department's review of industry standards for the biodegradability of plastic material; and on how many occasions (a) Ministers and (b) officials have met representatives of (i) oxo-biodegradable and (ii) compostable plastic bag companies in the last 12 months.

Dan Rogerson: Neither I nor any of my Defra Ministerial colleagues have met representatives of either the oxo-biodegradable or compostable bag industries in the last 12 months.   At the official level, I set up a Stakeholder Advisory Group in September last year, which will be consulted as part of the review of industry standards for the biodegradability of plastic material. The Stakeholder Advisory Group met twice last year and includes Government officials as well as representatives of the Renewable Energy Association (who represent the compostable bag companies), the Oxo-biodegradable Plastics Association, academics and a number of other industry stakeholders such as the British Plastics Federation and the Plastics and Films Association. We expect that this group will meet on three further occasions this year.   In addition, officials have met representatives of oxo-biodegradable firms on two occasions in the last 12 months to provide feedback on unsuccessful applications for funding under the Small Business Research Initiative. Officials have also met representatives of companies manufacturing compostable bags on three occasions in the last 12 months.

Rural Areas: Finance

Dr Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the loss of state funding by the ACRE Network on that organisation's ability to deliver support to rural communities.

Dan Rogerson: We value the work that the ACRE Network does at the local level to ensure the rural voice is heard and to inspire community action. Future funding is being carefully considered and no final decision has yet been made. No assessment has therefore been prepared.

Rabbits: Animal Welfare

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward species-specific legislative proposals to (a) prohibit the use of barren cages for new rabbit farm developments and (b) make other provision for protecting the welfare of farmed rabbits.

George Eustice: There are existing provisions which protect the welfare of rabbits kept for meat production. Whilst there is no specific EU-wide legislation for rabbits, any kept for meat production in cages or in other systems in this country are protected by the general provisions of the Animal Welfare Act 2006, which makes it an offence to cause suffering to an animal. The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 specifically covers the welfare of rabbits kept for the production of food. In addition, the statutory welfare code for rabbits provides good husbandry advice including recommendations for housing, feed, water and space allowances which should be regarded as absolute minimum.

Rabbits: Meat

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in which countries rabbit meat sold in the UK in each of the five most recent years for which data is available was produced.

George Eustice: Rabbit meat was imported into the UK from the following countries. We have no data on whether this meat was then sold in the UK. CountryVolume and Value2010201120122013Jan to Nov 2014BelgiumTonnes193842137108 £000s77160160556428FranceTonnes237232225475334 £000s9058488381,221794GermanyTonnes  10  £000s  46 Irish RepublicTonnes122 7287 £000s367 227301ItalyTonnes61114149 £000s2241414026NetherlandsTonnes 27517084 £000s 5119984817PolandTonnes  0   £000s  1  PortugalTonnes54698 £000s2415212226SpainTonnes  127554 £000s  43284191 Crown Copyright   Source: HM Revenue and Customs

Rabbits: Meat

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to ensure that consumers are fully informed of the manner in which rabbit meat on sale in England was raised.

George Eustice: Food labelling rules are set at EU level and require that food information must be accurate and must not mislead. This Government has pressed for better information for consumers during negotiations relating to food labelling in Europe.   The European Commission has no plans to introduce further production method labelling for rabbit or any other farmed game. However, the Commission is due to produce a report on country of origin labelling for meats such as rabbit in the first half of this year.

Home Office

Slavery

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many investigations into modern slavery have been made in each police force area in 2014.

Karen Bradley: Data showing the number of police investigations for modern slavery in 2014 is not yet available. The National Policing Lead for modern slavery, Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer, is currently developing the approach to improving the management of modern slavery related data across all 43 police forces in England and Wales. These improvements in managing modern slavery data will result in greater cohesion across policing, which in turn will improve our strategic understanding and operational responses. In addition, modern slavery offences have been added to the Home Office Counting Rules (HOCR) for the first time. The HOCR provides guidance to police forces about how crime reported to the police should be recorded, meaning that from 1st April 2015 all modern slavery crimes reported to the police will be properly recorded. The Government has introduced a new statutory role, the Independent Anti-slavery Commissioner, responsible for improving awareness and detection by law enforcement, as well as working with partners to increase the number of successful prosecutions of the perpetrators of modern slavery. Kevin Hyland was appointed as the designate Commissioner in November 2014.

Immigration: Northern Ireland

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people not holding UK passports of what (a) nationality and (b) age entered Northern Ireland through the land border with the Republic of Ireland in each of the last 10 years.

James Brokenshire: Routine immigration controls are not conducted on the land border between the UK and Republic of Ireland. The Home Office does not hold the information requested

Firearms: East of England

Mr David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many firearms were confiscated in each police force area in (a) Suffolk, (b) Bedfordshire, (c) Cambridgeshire, (d) Essex, (e) Hertfordshire and (f) Norfolk during the most recent firearms amnesty in November 2014.

Lynne Featherstone: The data from November’s firearms surrender is being collated and analysed by the National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS). In the listed police force areas, the following numbers of firearms were surrendered: (a) Suffolk: 381, (b) Bedfordshire: 61, (c) Cambridgeshire: 123, (d) Essex: 126, (e) Hertfordshire: 223, (f) Norfolk: 577.

Offences against Children

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of new cases of historic child abuse which have come forward in the last 12 months; and what recent assessment she has made of the capabilities of police forces to deal with such cases.

Lynne Featherstone: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Child Sexual Abuse Independent Panel Inquiry

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what instructions or guidance officials of her Department have given to members of the Independent Inquiry Panel into child sexual abuse about speaking in public about the work of that Panel.

Lynne Featherstone: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

HM Treasury

Welfare Tax Credits

David Wright: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what payments the Government has made to (a) Capgemini and (b) Fujitsu for work decommissioning tax credits.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs has undertaken limited decommissioning work on the Tax Credit systems. All decommissioning costs are paid through Cap Gemini as our prime supplier and the value of those payments is £1.2m.

Tax Avoidance: Luxembourg

Austin Mitchell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he plans to make to the President of the EU Commission on tax deals given by Luxemburg to corporations trading in the UK.

Mr David Gauke: The Government does not comment on the tax decisions of other Member States. There are, however, regular discussions of international tax issues in the ECOFIN Council, in the OECD and in other international fora including the G20. The UK is playing a leading role in reform of the international tax rules to ensure that companies pay the taxes they owe.

Holocaust Memorial Day

Dan Jarvis: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will introduce a commemorative coin for Holocaust Memorial Day 2015.

Andrea Leadsom: On 13 January, the Chancellor of the Exchequer hosted a reception for the Holocaust Educational Trust event at Number 11, marking the start of the year that represents 70 years since the end of the Holocaust.   To commemorate Britain’s role in the liberation of Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp, as well as the courage of Holocaust victims and survivors, the Chancellor and Communities Secretary Eric Pickles commissioned The Royal Mint to design a special issue medal.   A small number of these were donated to Holocaust survivors living in the UK and to Holocaust Educational Trust supporters at the event, before The Royal Mint began selling to the wider public on 14 January.   These medals were designed in consultation with Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, and the Holocaust Educational Trust.

Corporation Tax: Northern Ireland

Dr William McCrea: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to devolve corporation tax to the Northern Ireland Executive.

Mr David Gauke: Following the 23 December Stormont House Agreement, the Government introduced and published the Corporation Tax (Northern Ireland) Bill on 8 January 2015. The Bill is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-bill-to-devolve-corporation-tax-in-northern-ireland

Monetary Policy

Grahame M. Morris: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what criteria his Department uses to assess the effectiveness of quantitative easing.

Andrea Leadsom: The UK’s monetary policy framework, set out in the Bank of England Act 1998, gives operational responsibility for monetary policy to the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Fuels: Prices

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if the Government will launch an inquiry into the price of fuel to identify the reasons for the disparity between global oil prices and the domestic prices paid by motorists.

Matthew Hancock: The Government has made it clear to the industry that it is vital the benefits of plunging oil prices are passed on quickly to the domestic prices paid by motorists.UK national average pump prices are now at their lowest levels since March 2010 for diesel and at its lowest since Dec 2009 for petrol. We expect fuel retailers to cut prices further as the decline in crude oil prices in recent weeks continues to feed through the system.We continue to monitor price movements very closely.

Fracking: Northamptonshire

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether his Department has received any expression of interest in pursuing shale gas development and exploration in (a) Northamptonshire and (b) the borough of Kettering.

Matthew Hancock: The Department for Energy and Climate Change has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Dungeness B Power Station

Damian Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment he has made of the future operating life of Dungeness B nuclear power station; and if he will make a statement.

Matthew Hancock: On 20 January 2015, EdF announced that the life of Dungeness B has been extended to 2028. This was a decision for EdF as the owner and operator to make in consultation with the regulator.There is no regulatory requirement for nuclear plant operators to gain permission from the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), for a plant life extension. Plant operators must instead demonstrate that plant will continue to run safely and in compliance with site licence conditions in the course of regular ONR assessments. However, in the case of Dungeness B, EdF and the ONR agreed it would be beneficial for ONR to review the life extension proposals in advance of the life extension announcement, which they have done.Separately, in order to ensure that the extension does not impact on the UK taxpayer, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) reviewed the impact of the decision on the UK’s Nuclear Liability Fund last year. The NDA approved the life extension to the plant. The assessment showed net savings rather than net costs.

Coal: Mid Glamorgan

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what tonnage of coal was extracted from Parc Slip Opencast site in Mid-Glamorgan in each year since 1985; what levy was imposed in each of those years; and if he will make a statement.

Matthew Hancock: The original Parc Slip site was worked by British Coal and had been completed before The Coal Authority existed.The National Archive hold files from the National Coal Board and British Coal Corporation Production Department and its successors which include breakdowns of production by the Corporation - http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/record?catid=3748&catln=3We have been able to obtain, from The Coal Authority, figures for Parc Slip West opencast site which started operations in 1996.The annual figures are shown below: Calendar YearProduction(tonnes)1996100,9481997301,4581998345,5171999390,5632000330,9092001371,4162002276,1862003227,427No royalties were taken on the Parc Slip West site.

Cabinet Office

Radicalism

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to paragraph 2.3 of the report of the Prime Minister's Task Force on Tackling Radicalisation and Extremism, published in December 2013, whether the strengthened powers for the Charity Commission on which the Government plans to consult will include the ability to examine suspicious activity reports.

Mr Rob Wilson: The Government consulted on a range of new and strengthened powers for the Charity Commission in December 2013. These formed the basis for the draft Protection of Charities Bill published in October 2014, and which is subject to pre-legislative scrutiny by the Joint Committee on the Draft Protection of Charities Bill. Charity Commission access to suspicious activity reports was not included as it does not require legislation.

Cervical Cancer: Young People

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many women under the age of 25 were diagnosed with cervical cancer in (a) the borough of Barnsley and (b) the UK in 2013 and 2014.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply. 



ONS Letter to Member - Cervical Cancer
(PDF Document, 111.02 KB)

Civil Servants: Flexible Working

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of civil servants is employed on flexible working arrangements.

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of civil service jobs is advertised as offering flexible working.

Mr Francis Maude: The Government's Talent Action Plan (available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/351194/Talent_Action_Plan.pdf) noted that "many civil servants already take advantage of measures such as flexible working. Where flexible working is managed in line with business need, it can help unlock employees’ full potential and challenge traditional ways of working".Recruitment outside of the senior civil service is a matter for departments but we do know that a majority of vacancy adverts include the reference that "This/these jobs are available for full-time, part-time or flexible working arrangements (including job share arrangements)".Information on numbers employed under specific flexible working arrangements is not held centrally.

Department for Culture Media and Sport

Portable Antiquities Scheme

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

Mr Edward Vaizey: I have made no formal assessment of the effectiveness of the Portable Antiquities Scheme. The Portable Antiquities Scheme, through its network of Finds Liaison Officers, does an outstanding job in encouraging the voluntary recording of archaeological objects found by members of the public. Since 1997 more than one million finds have been recorded in this way and made publicly available online through the Scheme. The Scheme also has an important educational role and allows children and adults alike to learn about archaeology, get involved, and discover the past. The Scheme is managed by the British Museum and funded through DCMS’s grant-in-aid to the British Museum, with local partner contributions. The funding allocation for the Portable Antiquities Scheme for the period between 2011/12 and 2014/15 has been ring-fenced with the funding reduction over this period minimised to less than 5%.

Department of Health

Abortion

Mr David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many inspections of approved independent places for the termination of pregnancy have been carried out to ensure compliance with the revised Procedures for the Approval of Independent Sector Places for the Termination of Pregnancy and his Department's Guidance in Relation to the Requirements of the Abortion Act, both published in May 2014.

Jane Ellison: Between 23 May 2014 and 15 January 2015 the Care Quality Commission has published eight inspections of independent healthcare organisation locations registered for the regulated activity of Termination of Pregnancy, covering five separate locations.

Pancreatic Cancer: Drugs

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much of the Cancer Drugs Fund was spent on pancreatic cancer drugs in each year since 2010.

George Freeman: NHS England has advised that there is currently one anti-cancer therapy available through the Cancer Drugs Fund that is used in pancreatic cancers. This is Abraxane (albumin bound paclitaxel).   NHS England has estimated that, since Abraxane was added to the national Cancer Drugs Fund list in March 2014, the estimated spend in that financial year was approximately £13,000.   Based on current application rates for this drug, NHS England estimates that approximately £4.09 million will be spent on this drug in 2014-15.   Prior to April 2013, information on the indication for which a cancer drug was provided through the Fund was not collected.

Dental Services: Antibiotics

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many antibiotics were prescribed by out-of-hours dentists in each quarter of the last three years.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The exact information requested is not available. Dental prescribing data is published annually at national level and antibiotic prescribing by dentists can be found in table 4.2 on page 20 in the report “Prescribing by Dentists, England 2013” which is available at the link below. This information is not collected in a form that separates in and out of hours prescribing, nor is there quarterly data.   http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB14016/pres-dent-eng-2013-rpt.pdf

Circle

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will remove Circle UK from his list of preferred partners to run NHS trusts.

Jane Ellison: The Department does not hold a list of preferred providers. As has always been the case, any future procurement decisions would be based on careful consideration of the best arrangement to ensure safe and sustainable NHS services and care in England for both patients and staff.

Ebola

Dr William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent progress he has made in preventing the Ebola virus spreading in the UK.

Jane Ellison: The Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies, has advised that the overall risk to the public remains low. The United Kingdom has robust, well-developed and well-tested public health and National Health Service systems for preventing and managing infectious diseases including any imported case of this type of disease, supported by a wide range of experts and specialist units. NHS England has recently received assurance from all NHS acute and ambulance chief executives of their readiness for an Ebola case.   Screening arrangements are in place at the UK’s main ports of entry for people travelling from the affected regions. Screening involves temperature checks and a questionnaire asking about current health, recent travel history and any contact with Ebola patients. Passengers are required to provide contact details and are given advice on what to do and whom to contact should they develop symptoms.   In addition to weekly meetings with the Devolved Administrations at official level, I hold regular meetings with the health minister counterparts in the Devolved Administrations on UK Ebola preparedness and response.   A number of national and local multi-agency exercises have been conducted in recent months to test operational resilience and provide assurance of Ebola preparedness. This included a recent exercise involving all four nations of the UK. The case of the British nurse recently returned from Sierra Leone demonstrated that the systems put in place across the UK to prepare for and respond to a case of Ebola worked well. In the light of that case, Public Health England has reviewed and further strengthened its screening protocols to ensure that anyone from a higher risk group who feels unwell at the time of screening will be reassessed. Advice will also be sought from an infectious diseases specialist and the passenger will be referred for testing if appropriate. The screening centres at Heathrow were viewed first-hand by the Chief Medical Officer and myself on 1 January 2015 and all arrangements, including the revised protocols, were found to be working well. We will continue to keep screening arrangements under review and look to improve or strengthen the process as guided by expert clinical advice.

Cancer: Drugs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will have discussions with NICE on the future availability in the NHS of the cancer drugs (a) Eribulin, (b) Avastin, (c) Kadcyla, (d) Afinitor, (e) Tykerb and (f) Perjeta; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body.   On 4 December 2014, NHS England, the Department of Health, NICE, 10 key cancer charities, and the pharmaceutical industry committed to establishing a working group to develop a robust process to support the sustainable long-term commissioning of cancer drugs. The group held its first meeting on 19 January 2015.

In Vitro Fertilisation

Dr William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that there is adequate public consultation and discussion before a decision is taken by Parliament on permitting mitochondrial transfer.

Jane Ellison: A number of public consultation exercises have taken place on the subject of permitting the use of mitochondrial donation techniques in clinical practice.   In June 2012 the Nuffield Council on Bioethics published an ethical review of novel techniques for the prevention of mitochondrial DNA disorders. The review included an open call for evidence and fact-finding meetings which, the foreword to the report of the review says, “exposed us to a wide range of opinions and informed our thinking.” The report can be found on the Council’s website at:   http://nuffieldbioethics.org/project/mitochondrial-dna-disorders/   Between July and December 2012 the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, with support from the Sciencewise Expert Resource Centre, undertook an extensive United Kingdom public dialogue/consultation exercise, which had a number of strands including a deliberative public workshop, public representative survey, open consultation meetings, open consultation questionnaire and patient focus group. Reports of that exercise, published in March 2013, can be found on the Authority’s website at:   http://www.hfea.gov.uk/9359.html   In February 2014, the Department conducted a public consultation on the specific detail of the draft regulations. The report of that consultation was published in July 2014 and can be found on the GOV.UK website at:   https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/serious-mitochondrial-disease-new-techniques-to-prevent-transmission   The Department has also received and responded to a large volume of correspondence on this issue, indicating there is considerable public awareness about it.   The Wellcome Trust, the Lily Foundation, the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign and other research organisations have also worked to raise awareness of mitochondrial disease and the techniques to prevent its transmission.   We are satisfied that the general public is informed about this issue and has had the opportunity to make known its views.

Drugs: Licensing

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, persuant to the Answer of 5 January 2015 to Question 218547, if he will adapt the Early Access to Medicines Scheme to better accommodate off-patent indications of drugs, by creating incentives for pharmaceutical companies to submit applications to the scheme.

George Freeman: Since the launch of the Early Access to Medicines Scheme in April 2014, three Promising Innovative Medicine (PIM) designations have already been granted. By 9 January 2015 there had been 428 downloads of the PIM designation form and 187 downloads of the scientific opinion form, which indicates the high level of interest in the scheme.   The Early Access to Medicines Scheme already has a number of incentives for pharmaceutical companies. The PIM designation provides an early indication that a product may be a possible candidate for the Early Access to Medicines Scheme and is of particular value to smaller companies because it will act as a signal to potential investors. At the next stage of scientific review, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency will consider the evidence and can issue an Early Access to Medicines scientific opinion. This opinion will support the prescriber to make a decision with the patient on using this medicine, when still unlicensed or used off-label. Earlier clinical use of new innovative medicines will also provide valuable real world data to companies for use in subsequent health technology appraisal processes.   We committed to review the Early Access to Medicines Scheme when we launched the scheme in April 2014. Through the Innovative Medicine and Medical Technologies Review we will also be taking forward a major review over the coming months to make recommendations to Government on opportunities to accelerate access for National Health Service patients to innovative medicines, devices and diagnostics.

Meningitis: Vaccination

Sir Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how the Government's approach to negotiating a cost-effective price for the meningococcal B vaccine Bexsero takes account of fluctuations in disease levels characteristic of that virus and the recent emergence of another strain of meningitis which may be treated using Bexsero.

Jane Ellison: The independent cost-effectiveness analysis of the use of the meningococcal B vaccine, Bexsero took account of the incidence and case fatality rates of all meningococcal disease, including meningococcal W in England during the period 2005-06 to 2011-12. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) considered that these data gave a reasonable range. JCVI are the independent experts responsible for advising the Government on immunisations following due consideration of the evidence on the burden of disease, vaccine safety and efficacy and cost effectiveness.   Further information is available in Christensen H, Trotter CL, Hickman M, Edmunds WJ. Re‑evaluating cost effectiveness of universal meningitis vaccination (Bexsero) in England: modelling study. BMJ 2014; 349: g5725.

Meningitis: Vaccination

Sir Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which post in his Department is responsible for leading negotiations on setting a cost-effective price for the meningococcal B vaccine Bexsero; and when the next meeting to continue those negotiations is scheduled.

Jane Ellison: The Department’s Director General for Innovation, Growth and Technology is leading negotiations with the manufacturer for the supply of the meningococcal B vaccine, Bexsero. The most recent negotiating meeting took place on 8 December 2014 and, following subsequent technical discussions, the next such meeting will take place shortly.

Doctors: Working Hours

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that doctors and surgeons are not working excessive hours.

Dr Daniel Poulter: It is the responsibility of National Health Service trusts to ensure that service rotas are designed and staffed appropriately and are in accordance with the Working Time Regulations.   The Department commissioned the Royal College of Surgeons to review the impact of the Working Time Directive on the health sector. A taskforce, chaired by Professor Norman Williams and comprising of representatives from across the medical profession, met on six occasions from October 2013 to February 2014 and a report was produced. The taskforce identified concerns about the impact of the adoption of the European Working Time Directive on the continuity of care for patients and the quality of training for some junior doctors. In view of this the report made recommendations that NHS trusts should review best practice in the design of working rotas.

Health Services: Kingswood

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what funding was allocated for the NHS in Kingswood constituency in (a) 2010 and (b) 2015.

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the per capita spend on NHS services was in Kingswood constituency in (a) 2010 and (b) 2015.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the following table.   South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) programme allocations and per capita funding for 2013/14, 2014/15, 2015/16.   Financial yearProgramme allocation (£ million)Funded £ per head of population2013/142399212014/152499462015/16263997   Source: South Gloucestershire CCG

Cancer: Easington

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients in Easington constituency have accessed the Cancer Drugs Fund in each year since 2010.

George Freeman: Prior to April 2013, information on the Cancer Drugs Fund was administered through clinical panels based in each strategic health authority (SHA) and data on the number of patients accessing the Fund at constituency level were not collected. Information for the North East SHA and England in 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 is shown below:Number of patients1 funded in2010-11Number of patients funded in 2011-12Number of patients funded in 2012-13North East SHA420696526England2,78011,79815,456 Source: Information provided to the Department by SHAs 1 Some individual patients may be double-counted where a patient has received more than one drug treatment through the Cancer Drugs Fund   NHS England has had oversight of the Fund since April 2013 and publishes information on patient numbers routinely on its website at:   www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/pe/cdf/   Information for the NHS England North of England region and England in 2013-14 and 2014-15 (April- September) is shown below:Number of patients1 funded in2013-14Number of patients funded in 2014-15(April- September)North of England, NHS England25,3273,027England19,56011,308 Source: NHS England 1 Some individual patients may be double-counted where a patient has received more than one drug treatment through the Cancer Drugs Fund 2 Includes individual cancer drugs fund request applications approved by the Cancer Drugs Fund panel in the North region

Cancer: Drugs

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had about extending the remit of the Cancer Drugs Fund to include access to other cancer treatments such as advanced stereotactic radiotherapy.

George Freeman: We announced a £160 million boost to the Cancer Drugs Fund at the end of August 2014.   NHS England announced on 12 January 2015 that it plans to increase the level of investment for drugs in the Cancer Drugs Fund from £280 million in 2014-15 to an expected £340 million in 2015-16.   NHS England has also announced the extension of its Commissioning through the Evaluation programme to include stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR). This will enable the number of cancer patients eligible to access SABR treatment to rise significantly, by 750 new patients a year and widen the number of cancers being treated.

Accident and Emergency Departments

Dame Tessa Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many vacant A&E consultant posts there were in the NHS excluding London (a) on the most recent date for which figures are available and (b) in each of the previous six years.

Dr Daniel Poulter: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 20 January 2015.The correct answer should have been:

Information on vacancies is not collected by the Department. The last annual National Health Service vacancy survey in England was undertaken by the Health and Social Care Information Centre in 2010. The survey was suspended in 2011 and then discontinued in 2013 following the publication of the Fundamental Review of Data Returns, which aimed to reduce the burden of the collection of data from NHS organisations.   The attached table provides vacancy data for 2009 and 2010, the only two years within the last six years for which data is available. 



Vacancy data 2009-10 A&E Consultants
(Excel SpreadSheet, 11.57 KB)

Dr Daniel Poulter: Information on vacancies is not collected by the Department. The last annual National Health Service vacancy survey in England was undertaken by the Health and Social Care Information Centre in 2010. The survey was suspended in 2011 and then discontinued in 2013 following the publication of the Fundamental Review of Data Returns, which aimed to reduce the burden of the collection of data from NHS organisations.   The attached table provides vacancy data for 2009 and 2010, the only two years within the last six years for which data is available. 



Vacancy data 2009-10 A&E Consultants
(Excel SpreadSheet, 11.57 KB)

Accident and Emergency Departments

Dame Tessa Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many vacant A&E consultant posts there are in (a) London and (b) England; and how many such vacant posts there are in each category in each of the last six years.

Dr Daniel Poulter: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 20 January 2015.The correct answer should have been:

Information on vacancies is not collected by the Department. The last annual National Health Service vacancy survey in England was undertaken by the Health and Social Care Information Centre in 2010. The survey was suspended in 2011 and then discontinued in 2013 following the publication of the Fundamental Review of Data Returns, which aimed to reduce the burden of the collection of data from NHS organisations.   The attached table provides vacancy data for 2009 and 2010, the only two years within the last six years for which data is available. 



Vacancy data 2009-10 A&E Consultants
(Excel SpreadSheet, 11.57 KB)

Dr Daniel Poulter: Information on vacancies is not collected by the Department. The last annual National Health Service vacancy survey in England was undertaken by the Health and Social Care Information Centre in 2010. The survey was suspended in 2011 and then discontinued in 2013 following the publication of the Fundamental Review of Data Returns, which aimed to reduce the burden of the collection of data from NHS organisations.   The attached table provides vacancy data for 2009 and 2010, the only two years within the last six years for which data is available. 



Vacancy data 2009-10 A&E Consultants
(Excel SpreadSheet, 11.57 KB)

NHS Property Services

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much Simon Holden, Chief Executive of NHS Property Services, has been paid for home to office travel expenses since taking up the post; for what reasons he is allowed to claim for such expenses; what salary he receives; and which other staff members at NHS Property Services claim for travel expenses.

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much each non-executive director of NHS Property Services has been paid in each year since it was established; and who authorises pay increases for non-executive directors.

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what role was performed by Charles Siddons at NHS Property Services; what salary and benefits he received in that role; what process took place to select him for that role; and what the job description is for that role.

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what role was performed by Tim Litherland at NHS Property Services; what salary and benefits he received in that role; what process took place to select him for that role; and what the job description is for that role.

Dr Daniel Poulter: It is standard practice for employees to claim the travel expenses incurred as a result of their work, including from their base for work to other locations. Simon Holden’s base for work is Nantwich in Cheshire.   As Chief Executive of NHS Property Services, a national business, Simon Holden travels frequently from his home base to the company’s head office in London and many of the company’s other offices and 4,000 properties across the country, meeting staff, tenants and stakeholders. His travel expenses are therefore significant, even though the Company’s expenses policy permits only standard class travel and overnight stays in hotels at £100 plus VAT per night. These limits are applied to all of the Company’s staff, including the Chief Executive.   NHS Property Services publishes the salary details of its Chief Executive, along with those of the rest of its board members, in its annual report and accounts, available on the company website at:   www.property.nhs.uk/about-us/publications/   For transparency purposes, the company has also begun publishing details of Mr Holden’s travel expenses, and those of the company’s other executive directors.   Expenses for the second quarter are still being audited and will be posted on the website in due course.   In 2013-14, its first year of operation, NHS Property Services was focused on setting up its systems and processes, and bringing together the systems and processes of 161 predecessor organisations. Collated figures for travel expenses for individual Directors of the company for this year are therefore not available; to establish them would require a manual trawl of every rail ticket and receipt, every expenses payment and claim over a twelve month period, which would incur disproportionate cost.   An important point to note however is that by Simon Holden not having a London based location, the Company saves a London Weighting allowance of £6,279.   NHS Property Services Ltd has been fully operational and has had a full complement of non-executive directors since 2013-14. The amounts paid to the Company’s non-executive directors is published in the Company’s annual report and accounts and is shown in the table below for the full year 2013-14; the part-year figures to the end of December 2014 are produced in the same format.   Non-Executive DirectorAmount paid in 2013-14 (£000s)Amount paid April 2014 - December 2014 (£000s)Robin Williams1N/A50-55Charles Howeson235-40N/ADouglas Blausten330-3515-20Martin West20-2515-20Chris Kane10-1515-20Rachel Kentleton410-155-10 1 Robin Williams joined the Company in April 2014. 2 Pro rata – Charles Howeson resigned 31 December 2013: the whole time equivalent salary was £50,000 - £55,000. 3 Douglas Blausten received additional remuneration from 1 January 2014 – 31 March 2014 for role as Acting Chairman. His whole time equivalent pay for 2013-14 was £20,000 - £25,000. 4 Rachel Kentleton left the Company October 2014.   The pay levels of the company’s non-executive directors are determined by the Department of Health, taking into account market rates, the required expertise, and the time commitment of the roles.   Tim Litherland was employed as Head of Asset Information at Agenda for Change band 9. He left the company in July 2014, having originally transferred into the Company from a strategic health authority, when the latter was abolished under the Health and Social Care Act 2012. The role, which is now a permanent post in the company’s structure, consisted of managing the team that established the company’s estates information database and which collates, reviews and analyses the information relating to the 3,700 properties the company inherited from primary care trusts and strategic health authorities.   Charles Siddons is the company’s Head of Business Development, reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, Dennis Markey. Mr Siddons was appointed to that role after a competitive, internal recruitment process, and he receives a salary equivalent to NHS Agenda for Change band 8d. He is entitled to claim travel and accommodation expenses incurred as a result of his work in the same way as other employees of the company, and receives no additional benefits.   In summary, the role of Head of Business Development is to produce and implement the company’s operational delivery plan for facilities management. This includes the delivery of operational targets and the management of key projects.

NHS: Cost Effectiveness

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect the four per cent year-in-year efficiency savings requirement has had on (a) staffing levels, (b) patient care and (c) waiting times in NHS trusts.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The 2010 Spending Review protected health funding in real terms. However, in order to continue to meet rising demands from an ageing population while improving services, NHS Leaders estimated that up to £20 billion of efficiency savings would be required over the four years from 2011-12 to 2014-15.   The NHS is on track to deliver these efficiency savings, having reported around £15 billion of efficiencies in the first three years, all of which are being reinvested into frontline care and have enabled the NHS to continue to meet rapidly rising demands whilst improving the quality of care.   There are now over 17,200 more professionally qualified clinical staff since May 2010 including: - over 9,000 more doctors; - over 3,300 more nurses, midwives and health visitors.   In contrast, the number of central administrative staff has fallen by over 20,200.   The NHS is experiencing high demand for many services from a growing, ageing population with complex health needs. Performance against quality measures remains high. We have put in place robust year-round operational resilience planning and performance management, backed by additional funding, to help the NHS continue to perform against the access standards.

Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect that the recently announced reductions in staffing levels at the Dudley Group of Hospitals will have on (a) patient care and (b) waiting times.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Department has made no such assessment.   It is a matter for the local National Health Service to plan its workforce, and to ensure it has the appropriate staff in place to provide high quality care for its patients.

Offences against Children

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of additional demand for NHS counselling services resulting from survivors of historic child sexual abuse recently coming forward; and what argument he has made of the effectiveness of NHS mental health services in meeting that demand.

Norman Lamb: No such estimate has been made. However, over £400 million has been invested in the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme to make a choice of psychological therapies available for those who need them in all parts of England. We are also investing in improving provision for children and young people.  IAPT services are not counselling services but may be provided to someone who has developed post-traumatic stress disorder in response to abuse. Assessment for IAPT services includes questions in relation to trauma. IAPT services treat depression and anxiety disorders which are also typical consequences of traumatic abuse.   The Department’s 2014-15 Mandate to NHS England makes clear that ‘everyone who needs it should have timely access to evidence based services’. The Mandate sets a clear objective for NHS England to deliver the key objectives of the IAPT programme – providing access to therapies for around 900,000 people per year by 2015, with a recovery rate of 50%.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Sussex

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of 111 referrals to A&E departments in NHS hospitals in Sussex over the Christmas and New Year period in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.

Jane Ellison: The information is not available in the format requested.

Social Services: Complaints

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that recipients of social care are able to access complaints advocacy, equivalent to the measures for health complaints advocacy established under the Health and Social Care Act 2012.

Norman Lamb: There are no current legislative proposals to ensure that recipients of social care are able to access complaints advocacy.   There is a duty to provide statutory advocacy support in adult social care in relation to some of the most vulnerable people using social care services - people who lack capacity to make decisions themselves. They have the right to statutory advocacy in relation to care planning and also in some cases for care reviews and safeguarding, under certain circumstances.   The Care Act 2014, which comes into force in April this year, introduces a new statutory duty on local authorities to provide access to independent advocacy. This has been introduced to support people’s involvement in care and support needs assessments, carers’ needs assessments, care planning, review and adult safeguarding boards. It extends the availability of independent advocacy to those who are judged to have substantial difficultly in being fully involved in these processes, where there is no one appropriate, such as a carer, relative or friend, who can support their involvement.